Listen to it via HTML 5: (might work for smartphones that can’t run flash)
If you see this… ignore it :). This is for browsers that run html 5. (IE 9, FF, Chrome). Maybe later I’ll add some capability detection to hide this from you non HTML 5 browser lovers, but with the possibility of a site revamp, I’m not concerned with it atm.

@emo: Thanks! I have not! Since my game time is relatively limited, and I’m spending most of it on DFO, I figure I’ll look into picking Skyrim up at a discount. Have heard nothing but positive things about that game. You enjoying it?

Finally finished listening to this cast :] And i have to agree about DFO’s marketing… Its just horrible… All community was just screaming to get the game on steam… It passed so much time and it is still not there… I did play it and i really loved it One of the best games i played But it had lack of players 1 year back. I just have to imagine what player base it has now… Lets hope everything will change on DFO 2 realease

@albers: I wonder if there are unwelcome financial/legal obligations and ramifications for the AV team if they put their game on Steam. Perhaps this is why they didnt do it??? But from a marketing and convenience perspective, it really sounds like a good idea.

@Ryan Finally got around to listening to your cast on the way into the office and almost done with it. I loved Frank and your show is very entertaining as always. One question though. Though out the cast you and Frank said that DFO has no much potential. However, unless it’s at the end you guys never say what that is. I mean that is true of any game or MMO that has or will ever exist. My question to you is what great potential does DFO have that no other game or MMO could have?

@Yakkkety Yak dont talk back: Very glad you brought that up. Going to attempt to articulate my point in the next cast; however, the short of it is this: Darkfall, as it is now, has a lot going on, but it could include so much more without damaging the base of the game. This is not true in any mmo. The simplest example I can think of, which is not where I hope Darkfall will go, is that Darkfall could start making equipment boe/bop/etc and it would not destroy the game. People would be pissed, but it actually wouldnt ruin how everything works, or the time you spent to obtain an item. Conversely, WoW cannot start allowing bound equipment to all drop on death (and become lootable by anybody) without serious backlash since people spend so much time in specialized instances to reap their gear. Does that make sense? The point is that because Darkfall has looser rules it’s more flexible, which adds for a lot of interesting potential. And by potential I mean they can add a lot more “loose content” making the game more complex (therefore more content with which players can mentally engage) and richer.

@Ryan I don’t understand what you mean as what does bind on pickup, have anything to do with my question. “My question to you is what great potential does DFO have that no other game or MMO could have?” The reason I ask this is because I think this is true of any MMO. Unfortinatly, most MMO’s never get to their full
potential IMO. I just want to know why you think DFO has special potential that other MMO’s don’t and what is that potential exactly? I also find it frustrating that your guest was even saying that they have taken a break from DFO because it’s currently messed up in it’s current state or they are tired of this. I have seen this same issue with EQ, Ultima Online, etc. If people claim these games are so great then why are they playing it? While having a skill system is great because of it’s freedom, the problem is that it makes everyone become a god, who can craft anything and do anything. Even with SWTOR, I hope they do make specializations just to make your character different, when it comes to that. Who knows maybe DFO 2.0 will blow everyone away, only time will tell. Please don’t think that I am trying to rag on you or put DFO down. I am just trying to understand yours and Frank’s perspective.

Not many games in history have had the poor execution of an inept development staff drag their users through the mud quite like Darkfall. In smaller games with lower population, you often see a phenominon that I call minority fascism.

Originally in development, they were planning on following Ultima Online’s skill cap system which sounds restrictive, but ultimately provides a social construct and enables cooperation. Forumfall crowed, so they gut-reacted (by removing skill caps), released the game, and immediately the unforeseen consequences of a “more grind, more immortality” system emerged. Individual characters simply should never have been allowed to just be anything and everything. That seems like a basic rule that Europeans have trouble understanding. I kept playing because it was still leagues better than the WoW equivalent.

Then they proclaimed that people who shelled out money to play the European release would have to buy another copy to play the US release… Fuck those guys. The game is still better than shitpiles like SWTOR, but I’d rather vote none of the above than play one of the ugliest and grindiest (non korean) mmorpg on the market.

@yak MMORPGs should be about freedom of choice. SWTOR might as well have been KOTOR3, only with a bigger grind and slower gameplay. After playing as many MMORPGs as I have, I find that games can hold me much longer by enabling me to create my own experience, and theme-park style MMORPGs are defined by the ways they restrict players from being a character.

Anyone who played Ultima Online pre T2A can understand that ganking had massive risks, but having it there as an equalizer to prevent/punish asshole behavior should be a prerequisite of MMORPGs. How many times has someone screwed you on a roll and you were left with no course of action to level the playing field?

I agree with Yak that if you like a story based, pre-defined, style of game, then that’s great. Whatever adds enjoyment to your life. And for those that have listened to a few episodes, you know that I like darkfall because of the liberty in game play as compared to just about every other mmo on the market. I think IHateMMOS and I will have to throw down on the DFO topic. Because hands down there is no better system available for somebody that wants to enjoy the dynamic fps combat offered by darkfall, as well as the open system that lets you play however you wish to play.

@Yak: bag the shit out of dfo if you want… that’s fine. I didnt take your comments negatively, btw. The BOP concept I mentioned really sums it up… DFO you have liberty, in WoW you have a tightly controlled system. The system that is the most open, with the loosest coupling between systems, is likely the one that you can expand upon, whether you want to add tighter controls… ala wow, or continue expanding on open game play. Essentially I’ve answered this question many times in different casts, but I’ll try to hit on it again in my next one with IHM (who better bring his “A-game” 😀 ). And @Yak, where you say “everybody becomes a god”… trust me, that’s not true. Just like with Highlander, there can be only one! Let me know if you have any other questions/comments/dont like my explanation. Will try to clarify via the spoken medium. BTW, SWTO casts are flowing like mud 😀

@Yak Hopefully everyone’s personal philosophy spills over to politics and not the other way around. It makes sense that someone who doesn’t enjoy being personally responsible for their life would be more attracted to theme-park MMORPGs which are highly regulated and restricted… So you must like George Bush! 😀